F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Very often we’ve heard people say ‘familiarity breeds contempt’, ‘friends are friends, business is something else’, but how far is it true? Well when we claim that our alliances i.e. our friendships are more prized than anything else on the planet, why do we fear when it comes to doing business with our friends? Those are the people you know the most, but yet you have the fear of losing them. Stephen Ufford and Tanis Jorge, co-founders and childhood friends, are working on their fourth startup venture together, which qualifies them as “friends with business benefits.” So there are many pros and cons like the 2 sides of the same coin, so let’s see what the positive impact of this situation is.

Strong rapport:

Trust plays a very important role in almost all our personal and professional relationships and when we know there’s someone who knows about our ideas, our beliefs, our vision, our interests, it’s easier to relate to them and that’s the case with friends and as it’s said birds of a feather flock together. Hence, when a crucial decision needs to be taken, an agreement can be made easily despite different preferences as the idea of compromise exists. There’s always an understanding which helps us avoid issues that might trigger tension and thus, things go on smoothly.

Easier Communication

The importance of sincere, authentic, and frequent communication cannot be understated. It takes years to broaden one’s communication channels to achieve genuine, emphatic and sincere communication which is the key that solves all problems, but with friends, all these levels have already been surpassed. One can say almost anything and the response is predetermined. This helps in serious articulation and important business decisions. Friendship amplifies the importance of communication in all circumstances.

Optimum distribution of work

Knowing each other’s strengths and benefits help us to optimize work. It gives one the option of doing what one’s good at and doing it well. Friends working together can easily come to a consensus about the various tasks that need to be accomplished. And as the company evolves and tasks increase the distribution becomes easier, which further eases the process of administration, which in turn is beneficial for business. Hence, it’s not just working with your loved ones, but also doing what you love.

They say ‘Working with friends is a lot of work, but it’s a great investment of time’. Though these factors appease us and tell us that this is the best venture to embark upon, numerous other factors need to be considered when one decides to do it, to ensure the friendship remains sacred and the partnership thrives. At the end, always remember the bottom line is, the happiest business in the entire world is making friends, and no investments in the streets pay larger dividends, for life is more than stocks and bonds, and love than rate percent.

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